


The Gentle Giant and the Itty-bitty Illustrator

by kopycat_101



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alongside my headcanons for Nathaniel and Alix, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Asexual Alix Kubdel, Awkward Romance, Banter, Best Friends, Bisexual Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Boys In Love, Bullying, Chloé Bourgeois Being Chloé Bourgeois, Crushes, Falling In Love, Female Friendship, Femslash, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gay Panic, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Idiots in Love, Internalized Homophobia, Love Confessions, M/M, Male Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Nathaniel Kurtzberg Has ADHD, Not Canon Compliant, Pining, Rare Pairings, Slash, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Teen Romance, The entire class is here but only those with speaking lines get tagged, Unrequited Crush, We get some actual characterization and backstory for Ivan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 16:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28710057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kopycat_101/pseuds/kopycat_101
Summary: Bustier gives out an assignment for students to pair up with their seat partner. Considering both him and Ivan don't sit with anyone, Nathaniel partners up with the very intimidating boy.Ivan is…intimidating. At least, he cuts a very intimidating figure, and he was turned into a rock monster first day of classes. Nathaniel also thinks Ivan's really cool. He's a little afraid of making himself seem like a fool in front of his very cool classmate.They start to become friends. Ivan's pretty much the first friend Nathaniel’s made on his own, without any help.And then things start getting complicated when Nathaniel catches feelings.
Relationships: Alix Kubdel & Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Ivan Bruel & Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Ivan Bruel/Mylène Haprèle (past), Ivan Bruel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Marc Anciel & Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Nathaniel Kurtzberg (past), Max Kanté & Lê Chiến Kim, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Mylène Haprèle/Alix Kubdel
Comments: 12
Kudos: 23





	The Gentle Giant and the Itty-bitty Illustrator

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back on my bullshit. And this time I bring you a new rarepair.
> 
> But that's not all...! I bring you two rarepairs! That barely have any fics of them at all! Because I decided that if no one was going to write it, it might as well be me. Also, I love and appreciate all the side characters and want them to shine for once! :)

* * *

Nathaniel shows the way to their Homeroom, his best friend trailing behind him. Thankfully, he’s with Bustier again. She was nice enough, if maybe a little too lenient at times. Hopefully, he’ll still be with Marinette. And maybe, for once, _not_ with Chloe Bourgeoise.

Plus, he’s got Alix with him this year! Things are looking up already.

“And here we are,” he intones, giving a sarcastic set of jazz hands at the door. Alix snorts, wrenching the door open, the two slipping inside.

“You seriously going to sit in the back, again?” Alix huffs at him when he makes a beeline for his usual seat.

“It’s where I always sit,” he shrugs at his best friend, pausing in the aisle.

“I’m too short to see the board if I sit back there with you,” the skater grumbles, crossing her arms. “I’m sitting up front.”

“Don’t sit at the very front. Chloe usually picks a desk there,” he warns. She gives him a nod, he nods back, and then he turns to finish his trek. He’s a little disappointed Alix won’t be sitting by him—this is the first time they’ve managed to have the same Homeroom since they’ve been at Dupont—but he wasn’t going to make his best friend suffer from not being able to see the board.

Despite what her reckless attitude might suggest, Alix is actually a bit of a nerd. At least, she’s really good at studying in a classroom setting, unlike him, and loves learning. Probably because her Dad’s an art historian and her older brother is a historian on Ancient Egypt. It runs in the family.

The redhead settles in his seat. He gives a shy hello to Rose and Juleka, who’re also sitting in a back table, the one by the windows. Rose answers with a bubbly, “Good morning, Nathaniel! It’s great that we’re all sharing Homeroom, again!”

“Yeah, same,” he nods. Juleka just nods back, silent as the grave from her own crippling anxiety, allowing her girlfriend to speak for her. He gets it, though. No hard feelings.

A loud and boisterous voice fills the air. “Yo, Alix…! Looks like we’re sharing Homeroom, huh, sports rival?”

“I’m your _only_ sports rival, Kim,” the skater shoots back at the excitable jock. Nathaniel cringes a bit. Kim was…loud. And he was even louder, when paired with Alix. The second Kim and Alix met during Track tryouts first year, Nathaniel hasn’t heard an end to their wild dares and races.

“Kim, no running in the classroom, you might trip,” Max huffs next to Kim. The other short boy was never intimidated by the jock, unlike Nathaniel. Strangely enough, Max and Kim ended up being really good friends. Nathaniel, who was also a nerd with an athletic and extroverted best friend, never questioned the logistics. Sometimes, that shit just happened, like magic. Or a curse, depending on the day.

A mousy, plump girl pokes her head inside the door, looking around, eyes alighting as she recognizes someone. She skitters inside, sitting down next to Alix and smiling at her brightly. Hm, an old classmate? Maybe that’s the Mylene he’s heard so much about from Alix…

The redheaded artist settles his bookbag by his chair, fighting down a yawn. He puts his arms on his desk, ready to take a nap before Homeroom starts. First-day jitters made him lose sleep last night.

It’s not like anything interesting’s going to happen, anyways. It’s just the first day.

* * *

Nathaniel’s woken up after a few minutes by Miss Bustier. And also a rock monster. Because he went and spoke too soon, effectively jinxing himself.

Apparently, monsters were real, as well as supervillains and superheroes, and their lives were now running on comic book logic. Which is both cool, and _absolutely terrifying_.

After that’s all said and done, however, things go back to…semi-normal.

Apparently, the new girl in class—Alya—ran right into danger and caught footage of Paris’ new superheroes. Their names were Ladybug and Chat Noir. Ivan doesn’t remember being turned into a supervillain, despite the rampaging across Paris. Kim forgave Ivan very quickly for attempting to kill him in said rampage. Mylene—who was kidnapped by Ivan as a rock monster—is even more terrified of the bulky boy. Chloe is still a bitch and still in his Homeroom, sadly enough. Marinette has gotten even braver, especially in the face of bullies, which is really admirable. Oh, and a literal teenage model named Adrien Agreste has joined them this year, too.

Nathaniel sits in the back of class, and observes, wondering what the _hell_ his life has become…

* * *

The person that ends up sitting in front of Nathaniel is Ivan himself. The boy who turned into a rock monster the first day of classes.

Ivan is…intimidating. At least, he cuts a very intimidating figure, towering over six feet tall and bulky. He has a dyed undercut, wears black, and has a scar through an eyebrow. He’s very, very intimidating.

He’s also really cool, Nathaniel thinks, heart beating rabbit-quick in his chest every time Ivan looks at him with those steel-grey eyes of his. Ivan looks tough, like a rocker. Makes sense, too, considering during breaks, he listens to rock music loud enough Nathaniel can hear it through his headphones. It’s music Nathaniel thinks he recognizes, but he questions himself before ever actually bringing it up in conversation, in fear of making himself seem like a fool in front of his very cool classmate.

Another thing about sitting behind Ivan is that his bulk blocks Nathaniel easily from view. He can draw however much he likes, without his teachers noticing he’s drawing. It’s actually pretty amazing. Nathaniel doesn’t have to worry about his mind wandering from his ADHD, or losing inspiration.

It’s very useful. Miss Bustier is kind enough she doesn’t call Nathaniel out too often when he does it, but against other teachers like Ms. Mendeleiev? It’s a lifesaver.

Nathaniel doesn’t really know much about Ivan, but he already likes him, from what little he does know.

* * *

Partnering up for assignments is always a pain. Nathaniel’s always the one left out, too anxious to ask to partner up with anyone.

This time, Bustier tells them to partner with their seat partners. Everyone does so easily, but Nathaniel is sitting in the back by himself.

But so is Ivan in front of him. No one seemingly wanted to risk sitting next to him or playing friends. The intimidating boy is alone as well.

Nathaniel quietly gets out of his seat, with his notebook and sketchbook, and goes around the other side of his desk so he can hover next the open seat on Ivan’s left.

“U-Um…” he stutters, jolting in place when the other boy instantly snaps his head over to stare him down. Even sitting, Ivan is very intimidating with his sheer presence. “I—I don’t have a seat partner…”

“Oh,” Ivan blinks at him, before nodding. “Right.” He nods at the chair next to him, and Nathaniel gives an awkward smile, settling his things down. Ivan tries to scoot to the side to give Nathaniel more room, but the artist quickly assures, “Y-You’re fine, no need to move.”

He settles himself in. It’s…strange, sitting next to someone. Nathaniel’s a bit of a loner that keeps to himself, even when he’s got friends with him.

He wonders if Ivan has any friends. He seemed to know Kim, but Kim was sort of—Kim was acting like a jerk to Ivan, pretty much acting like a bully, at the start of the year. Maybe Ivan doesn’t, then…? He might only have acquaintances with some of his past classmates.

“I-I’m Nathaniel,” the redhead introduces himself, stomach tying itself in knots. “I-I sit behind you.”

“I know,” Ivan grunts. Nathaniel cringes, feeling acutely embarrassed. Ivan frowns back at him, but the look in his grey eyes is apologetic. “Ivan.”

“N-Nice to meet you,” the artist squeaks back, quickly fumbling for his notebook to give him something to do. “Um…So, did you do the reading?”

“Yeah,” the other grunts.

“Cool. I mean, I-I did it too, but. Yeah,” he flounders. “Uh, wh-what’s the answer for question one, do you think?”

It goes like that. Nathaniel awkwardly stuttering out questions and trying to have a conversation, and Ivan giving him curt answers. But it’s at least obvious that Ivan did, in fact, do the reading. Little Red Riding Hood is a simple tale that most have probably heard, but when the last question of the board comes up— what are the themes of the story?—Ivan seems to finally say something that’s a little more in-depth.

“Obviously, it’s don’t wander off on your own and trust strangers,” the other boy starts. “But this story’s super old. Back then, they treated kids like they were mini adults. Didn’t really teach kids life lessons like this. So that’s why they wrote this story.

Oh. That’s…that’s very insightful. Maybe Literature was one of Ivan’s better subjects…?

Ivan’s answer is confirmed to be very much accurate, a few minutes later. Miss Bustier looks around the room to pick someone to answer the last question, and her gaze lands on Nathaniel raising his hand meekly. “Yes, Nathaniel? Why don’t you tell us about the themes?”

The redhead stutters through the answer his partner had given him, face warm the entire time. But their teacher smiles brightly back at him. “Very good! Yes, the theme is to teach children not to trust strangers, and you’re also correct about the historical background with this fairy tale.”

Nathaniel looks over at Ivan, noting the ghost of a grin on the other’s face, and finds himself smiling.

Miss Bustier tells them the activity is over, and they should get ready to write more notes. Nathaniel gets up and scrambles back to his old seat, the only one having to do so, accidentally making a clatter on his way. He hears Chloe and Sabrina snicker, ears going warm, but sees Ivan give a narrow glare at the bullies, quickly quieting them.

Nathaniel sits back down and ducks his head, quick to write down his notes. But he’s smiling when he does.

* * *

Nathaniel taps on Ivan’s shoulder, handing him his homework to pass to the front, where Miss Bustier was waiting to collect all their worksheets. The bulky boy nods back at him, a slight grin on his face, eyes lingering on the logo on Nathaniel’s t-shirt.

The period afterwards is Science. Nathaniel is ready to skitter there straight away—after all, Science was his worst subject and Ms. Mendeleiev intimidated the hell out of him, if not downright scared the shit out of him on his bad days—but Ivan subtly blocks his way when he tries to enter the classroom.

The artist snaps his head up. Ivan practically towers over him. He was easily a foot taller than Nathaniel. The redhead finds his stomach doing a weird swooping sensation when he realizes this.

“Y-Yes?” he squeaks, quickly clearing his throat and fighting down a blush. Wow, way to make himself seem like a total loser, make himself seem weak. Is—Is Ivan going to shove him in a locker or something? He looks scary, but Nathaniel hadn’t considered he’d actually go through with it. From the partner assignments in class, Ivan was…nice enough.

“You listen to Magma Moon?” Ivan asks, hand gesturing at Nathaniel’s torso, at his band t-shirt. The artist blinks, mind stuttering to a halt.

“U-Um, yeah…?” he asks carefully. “I—I know all their, um. All their albums?” It comes out more of a question than statement, from his nerves. What, is Ivan going to, like, quiz him over it? Tell him he’s not a ‘real fan’ or something?

The taller boy nods, his grey eyes gleaming, almost. But that could just be the fluorescents. “Favorite album?”

“Oh, that’s a tough one,” Nathaniel muses, threading a hand through his hair. “1001 Centigrades was solid, but Merci was pretty good, too, and so was K.A. Uhhh, gonna have to go with Merci, though.”

Ivan nods back at him, a smile on his lips. He looks different when he smiles. His face lights up with it. “Hell yeah. Merci’s my fav, too.”

“Oh, nice! People are divided between the old and new era of the band, so Merci gets lost in the dust most of the time,” the redhead grins back, feeling himself relax. This was something he knew pretty well, something he was comfortable talking about.

“I think it’s a good transitional album,” Ivan shrugs his massive shoulders, still smiling. “You heard their new album?”

“Yeah! It’s _so_ good! They really didn’t have to go as hard as they did, but they _did_.”

Ivan laughs. Like, actually laughs. It’s a belly-deep kind of laugh, and it sounds so _joyful_ , it takes Nathaniel aback. His heart stutters in his chest.

“They really did, though. The Vanders are _wild_ ,” Ivan nods, grinning wide.

“Absolute madlads,” the artist finds himself agreeing, heart doing a gymnastics routine in his chest. Wow, Ivan was actually sort of cute when he smiled and laughed and didn’t have a resting murder bitchface. Or maybe Nathaniel was too bisexual to function.

The bell rings. Nathaniel pales. Ivan steps aside and nods his head, and Nathaniel quickly stumbles in the room before the sound ends, the bulky boy behind him.

“Sit down, boys,” Ms. Mendeleiev tells them curtly. Nathaniel nods his head faster than a bobblehead and skitters to his usual seat in the back. “We’re starting class with a partner project. Seatmates together.”

Nathaniel pauses before settling fully in his seat, bag still on the table, wondering if he should have sat at Ivan’s usual table. But the other boy just calmly sits in the stool on Nathaniel’s left without missing a beat.

Nathaniel smiles shyly at him, and Ivan smiles back. The artist ignores his heart skipping a beat, and goes to grab his notebook.

* * *

The great thing about sitting behind Ivan and having the teachers’ views blocked is that Nathaniel can draw in his sketchbook scotch-free, yes. That’s the first and main reason why he stayed in his seat behind the bulky boy.

But as time goes on, he starts enjoying how Ivan sits on the side of his chair, turned around to chat with Nathaniel before class. They have more in common than just a favorite band. They enjoy similar music, trading favorite albums and recommendations for new artists they should listen to later.

They even slip into movie preferences, when Nathaniel mentions one of his favorite bands doing some songs for a movie. Turns out, they’re both huge fans of action movies, too, including superhero films. Nathaniel is just a little bit over the moon at being able to talk to someone who isn’t Alix about superhero movies.

“You seen the latest Marvel movie yet?” Nathaniel asks excitedly, smile wide.

“Yeah, Black Widow? Pretty good,” Ivan nods. “She kicks ass, and it’s gotta good soundtrack.”

It’s not much, but it’s more than Nathaniel ever expected to share with the other boy. Nathaniel’s first assumptions was that Ivan was into harder stuff, metal or screamo, and would love horror movies with tons of gore.

Learning these new facts about Ivan really changes a lot of Nathaniel’s initial perceptions. Ivan was…much more laidback and much less scary than first glance. He was still the thoughtful boy Nathaniel’s come to know, still the one that somehow managed to find the right answers when they partnered up in assignments while Nathaniel struggled with his thoughts and words.

At this point, with the amount of time they’ve talked so far, the redhead would even go out to say that the other boy was his friend. It was an odd thought. He’d never really made friends by himself. Alix had been the one to initiate friendship when they were toddlers, and Rose had gotten Nathaniel to be her and Juleka’s friend through her bubbly personality. He was friendly enough to Max and Kim, because they were very confident and initiated the conversations, as well.

Hell, even with Marinette, Nathaniel’s crush, she’d been the one to talk to him first. It was her kindness when she complimented his art, her kindness when she ushered him to her parent’s bakery and offered to let him borrow some clothes when his were ruined because of Chloe, that had him falling for the baker’s daughter hard and fast. But Nathaniel never tried to really talk to her, too anxious and shy, pining from afar.

Ivan might really be the first friend Nathaniel’s made on his own. It…It makes him feel warm, thinking about it.

* * *

Nathaniel finds his mind wandering in class the same amount as he did last year, with the same shoddy attention span from his ADHD. But lately, he’s thinking more about music and movies than art. No doubt influenced by the talks him and Ivan have before classes, or when they’re partnered up and finished with an assignment.

When he _does_ end up sketching instead of just daydreaming, it’s a lot over the heroes of Paris, of Ladybug and Chat Noir. But he also notes that he’s been drawing more and more of the people sitting around him. He gets bored, of course. And sometimes artists just draw those around them when they have nothing else to draw. He’s sketched plenty of his classmates before because of it.

After about two weeks, Nathaniel blinks confusedly as he flips through his sketchbook and notes that more and more of his sketches are over Ivan. Which is a little surprising. But maybe it’s happening because Ivan sits in front of him, and so he’s the easiest thing to draw…?

Yeah, that’s gotta be it. Plus, Nathaniel admittedly isn’t very good at drawing plus-sized people yet, and Ivan is pretty much a free model for him to practice, sitting right in front of him. He needs to diversify, if he wants to be a comic book illustrator someday. Not everyone has the same build or body shape.

Finally coming to that conclusion, the artist puts the issue out of his mind.

* * *

At some point, Nathaniel thinks he manages to perfect the exact set and width of Ivan’s shoulders, the way the folds of his black band t-shirt settle across his body, the arch of the back of the other’s neck. Nathaniel’s also learned how to draw short hair from observing Ivan closely and drawing the back of his head so many times.

It’s actually a bit of a miracle, considering almost everyone Nathaniel knows or uses to draw as reference has longer hair, including himself. But he’s pretty much figured out short hair and Ivan’s body type.

He taps his pencil against his chin, wondering how he could get to draw Ivan’s face more. He’s never been able to observe and draw it out, mostly using his own memory of when Ivan talks to him, but he can never get the exact details right.

Ivan had a very distinctive and interesting face. Pudgy cheeks, thick brows, and a round and slightly upturned nose. Plus, a strong jawline that was still soft with baby fat, that would no doubt turn into something very handsome and rugged, when he’s an adult…

He also had very nice eyes, Nathaniel can’t help but note. He’s pretty sure the other uses eyeliner like him, because he does this very small wing at the edges of his eyes that helps those steel-grey eyes pop. Add in the freckles dusting the bridge of his nose, and Ivan has even more in common with Nathaniel than he’d ever noticed, looks-wise.

Nathaniel hadn’t even noticed the other’s freckles at first, but now his gaze is magnetized to look at them every time he talks to Ivan and Ivan smiles and laughs at something. He scrunches up his nose whenever he laughs. It’s adorable.

Nathaniel smiles softy down at his sketchbook as he carefully sprinkles the freckles over Ivan’s nose in his newest sketch. The face proportions don’t look like they’re at the level he wants them to be, but it’s better than all his last attempts.

“Another Ivan sketch, huh?” Alix muses. Nathaniel jolts in his seat like he’s been shocked, when his best friend pops up and puts an elbow on his shoulder. “Ooh, this one’s looking nice—”

“ _Al_! You scared me…!” he hisses back, heart thrumming like a jackrabbit, clutching at his t-shirt.

“Sorry, dude. But I’ve literally said your name, like, five times,” the skater snorts. “I know how you get in The Zone, but I was getting impatient.”

The redhead huffs and grumbles, but allows his best friend to sit next to him and look at his sketchbook, as is habit.

“Wow, you’re getting lots of practice in,” Alix grins, humming. “And you’re learning how to draw different body types! Good for you.”

“It helps that Ivan sits in front of me,” Nathaniel shrugs, tapping his pencil at the edge of his sketchbook. “Still can’t get his face right, though…”

“Why don’t you just ask him to let you draw him?” his best friend asks bluntly, with all the finesse of swinging a baseball bat. It sure feels like she hits him with one in the head, with the suggestion.

Nathaniel finds himself sputtering, face going warm. “I-I can’t just do that!”

“Why not? You ask me all the time,” Alix shrugs casually. “Plus, you’re friends. Friends help each other out with shit like this.”

“H-he’ll think it’s weird,” the artist says, hunching in on himself. “I—I can’t do it.”

“If you don’t ask him, you’ll never get the proper reference to draw him like how you want to…” she points out slowly with a raised brow. “So it’s either do that, or suffer. Take your pick.”

Nathaniel sighs, flipping his sketchbook closed, lowering his head to hit his face gently against the hard cover. “Ugh. I hate it when you’re right…”

“I usually am,” Alix says, smugness deep in her voice. “Don’t worry, he’ll probably be flattered more than anything.”

Nathaniel highly doubts that, but he knows it’s no use to debate further with his best friend. Instead, he just groans against the cover of his sketchbook.

* * *

Nathaniel is all jittery nerves the next few days. There’s never a good opportunity to bring up his question to Ivan, it feels like. Every time he tries, his breath gets caught in his lungs. Add in two separate Akuma attacks, and Nathaniel is getting sick and tired with the universe fucking with him.

He decides he’ll do it on the last school day of the week. If Ivan thinks it’s weird and hates him for wanting to use him as a drawing reference, at least Nathaniel can hide in his home in shame and lick his wounds over the weekend.

But when Ivan sits at his seat and turns to talk to the artist that morning, he launches into a conversation topic with gusto, enthusiastic about MGK’s newest album. Apparently, the guy transitioned into pop-punk, and the newest album is the first foray into that.

“It _rocks_ , dude! I listened to a few songs. They’re instant bangers,” Ivan laughs brightly, scrolling through his phone to show Nathaniel the track list online. “You busy today at lunch? We could listen through it, give our thoughts. They got fucking _Travis Barker_ on drums for it.”

Nathaniel blinks back at him, eyes going wide at the information. “No _way_. Really?! They got Blink’s drummer for the album…?!”

“I know, right!” Ivan laughs, steel-grey eyes bright and smile taking up his whole face. “It’s fucking legendary.”

“Yeah, no, that’s totally sick. I’m down,” the redhead finds himself nodding automatically.

Oh. Well. Looks that that’s his lunch hour used up. He was going to ask Ivan if he could draw him during lunch, but…

Well. He thinks this is a better use of his time.

During lunch, the two huddle together in a corner table. Ivan’s got a splitter cable with him, so Nathaniel just has to plug his headphones in alongside Ivan’s to listen.

For some reason, he’s a little disappointed they won’t be sharing headphones. Then he shakes the disappointment off, confused. After all, it’d be impossible to listen to the tracks with just one earbud, considering they were all in mono instead of stereo, so they’d either be losing part of the drums or guitars if they tried that.

Whatever. His brain’s weird, sometimes. The two already have to sit next to each other to listen to the songs, anyways. Any closer and Nathaniel would either be cuddling Ivan, or be sitting straight in his lap—

The redhead’s face flashes hot. Where the hell did _that_ thought come from…?! Damn his dumb, bisexual ass…!

Ivan doesn’t seem to notice, though. His cheeks are flushed a cute pink and his eyes gleam and his smile is bright and unfiltered as he looks over at Nathaniel after the current track’s done. He pauses the song before the next starts. “That was Bloody Valentine. Prob’ly one of my favorites, I think.”

Nathaniel laughs, breathless. He manages to get out, “That chorus had some oomph to it. I liked it.”

“Yeah! It’s _so_ fucking catchy. Plus, those drums and riffs? Phenomenal shit,” the bulky boy says enthusiastically, all but waxing poetic.

The lyrics of the song drift through Nathaniel’s head, as he looks back at Ivan going on an excited and geeky music rant. “ _You’ll be my Bloody Valentine tonight_.” Nathaniel’s heart thrums fast like the thudding bassline of the song.

What the fuck?

Nathaniel sits stock-still in place, trying to fight off the blush that wants to encroach on his entire face. He’s not sure he’s very successful, but Ivan doesn’t seemingly notice, thankfully enough.

They just manage to get through the track list in the lunch hour, the time it takes stretched out because they stop after every song to comment on it. But when Ivan asks, “Hey, which one’s your favorite, you think? Mine’s Bloody Valentine”, Nathaniel is quick to answer, “Yeah, me too.”

He’s not sure why it feels like a confession more than just the statement it is, though he’s starting to have an inkling as to why.

* * *

Miss Bustier gives them another partner assignment, but they can pick their partners, this time. Which hasn’t happened yet, before this.

The front of the room breaks out into a madhouse, with Chloe declaring she’s partnering with Adrien, while Nino and Marinette also declare they’re partnering with Adrien. Nathaniel ignores them to look over at Alix. Alix catches his eyes, then grimaces and shrugs, before turning back to Mylene, not making a move to stand up to join Nathaniel.

Nathaniel is left succinctly wondering, “ _What the absolute fuck, Al?_ ” He looks down at his phone, noting he has a text from her.

“ _Srry, prtnr w myle, shes got anxiety_.” Oh. Huh.

Nathaniel jolts when he hears the chair scrape next to him. He quickly turns his phone off and smiles sheepishly over at Ivan. “Right! Sorry, you can sit here,” he tells the other quickly, moving his sketchbook aside.

“I mean, if you’re sure…” the bulky boy starts, almost _shy_. He looks uncomfortable, eyes darting to the front of the room, which had Miss Bustier quickly attempting damage control to the Adrien Partner Situation. R.I.P to Bustier.

“C’mon, of _course_ I wanna partner up with you,” Nathaniel assures him quickly, giving him a warm smile. The other ducks his head and settles down next to the artist, cheeks a faint pink. “You’re the one who’s always got the answers in Literature, anyways. I’d be dumb to not grab you as my partner for this assignment.”

Ivan gives an incredulous laugh, hand on the back of his neck as he looks back at the redhead. “Don’t put yourself down. You’re not bad at Lit Class.”

Nathaniel feels a flash of warm affection at the other’s assurances. “Maybe so, but I’m pretty sure you’ve got one of the best grades in this class. Now, c’mon, don’t let me drag you down any longer. What’s number one?”

Ivan shakes his head and gives a little smile back at him, something almost fond, but lets him change the subject.

* * *

“Sorry ‘bout that, my dude,” Alix tells Nathaniel when they walk to lunch together. “Mylene literally cannot function in asking anyone else to be her partner for stuff. Poor girl’s afraid of almost everything.”

“You were both classmates last year, right…?” Nathaniel asks for confirmation.

The skater nods. “Yeah, we were seat partners then, too. I think the only other person she knows in our class is Ivan, but considering, uh…well…”

Nathaniel hisses and winces. “Oof, yeah. It must be really awkward with those two.”

“Besides, you’re friends with Ivan. I didn’t think you’d mind working with him,” Alix shrugs.

“I don’t,” he assures her quickly. “I just…I dunno. I guess it just feels weird we haven’t really had many projects together since this year started, even though we pretty much have matching schedules, for once.”

“Yeah. Oh well, shit happens,” Alix shrugs. “We still study together anyways.”

“True,” the redhead nods, eyes roaming the cafeteria.

Ivan was sitting alone, again. He usually sat alone during lunch. Sometimes Kim would convince the bulky boy to sit with him, but Ivan always seemed uncomfortable at the full and boisterous table. Not in the way that he hated the noise and people, exactly, like Nathaniel’s own anxiety. More like he physically hated taking up so much space.

Nathaniel feels a bony little elbow dig into his side, and yelps, glaring down at Alix. The girl just smirks back at him. “Go on, go sit with him.”

“Fine. And you can sit with Mylene,” he snipes back. “Maybe she’ll ask to cuddle you instead of just your bunny backpack, this time.”

Alix goes faintly pink, giving him a glare. Hah. His guess had actually been on the money. “Shut the fuck up, Kurtzberg.”

“ _You_ shut the fuck up, Kubdel.”

The two narrow their eyes at one another, before sticking their tongues out at the same time, breaking out into laughter.

They know each other too well. Sometimes their familiarity could be a con, because nothing ever got past the other… But sometimes it was a pro, like now, where they were together in gay solidarity.

Nathaniel watches Alix walk over to Mylene, waving Kim’s seat invitation away, the plump girl brightening instantly when the skater takes a seat across from her. Then, he takes a breath and walks across the cafeteria, eyes zeroed in on Ivan.

And then promptly falls flat on his face with a yelp of, “FUCK!”

Chloe bursts into laughter above him as he groans, scrabbling to pick himself back up. It’s a good thing his lunch was in a Tupperware, but it looks like his bag of chips can’t be salvaged. Ugh. He should’ve seen something like this coming. Chloe always enjoyed making his life miserable, whenever she remembered he actually existed.

“Did you trip him?” a familiar voice demands, though it’s oddly enough not Alix coming to his defense, but _Ivan_. Ivan’s deep tones are a relief, as he looms over Chloe and Nathaniel with a glare. Chloe pales and instantly backs up. Ivan huffs, kneeling next to Nathaniel. “Hey. You okay?”

“I’m fine. Just a little bruised, but mostly a bruised ego,” the artist tells the other with a smile.

The bulky boy huffs, but he seems to calm down quickly from Nathaniel’s assurances. He helps the redhead gather his things, grabbing onto Nathaniel’s bookbag like it weighed nothing. “C’mon, come sit with me.”

The intimidating boy sends one parting glare at Chloe, who cowers behind Sabrina, before leading Nathaniel back to his corner table.

The artist finds himself smiling, despite it all, when he takes a seat across from Ivan. “Thanks for saving me back there.”

“No prob,” Ivan nods back, crossing his arms and laying them against the tabletop. “Chloe doesn’t really pick on me, since I could break her like a toothpick if I wanted to. So she picks on anyone she thinks she can take.”

“I could take her,” Nathaniel says quickly. Ivan just raises a brow—the one with a scar through it—and the redhead deflates, face warm. “W-Well, uh. If I didn’t care about hitting women, maybe I could? But my Mom raised me better.”

The other’s lips twitch up into a sardonic smile. “That makes two of us, then. I could snap her like a twig, but I wouldn’t.”

“It probably— _definitely_ — makes me an asshole to say it, but I’d _literally_ pay money to see that,” he snorts, unpacking his lunch. R.I.P to his bag of chips. It’ll sorely be missed. “Or maybe pay to see Marinette finally be able to go full feral on her and beat her ass. I heard Chloe’s been picking on her since _Kindergarten_.”

“What a fucking bitch,” Ivan says solemnly. Ain’t that the truth?

“The biggest,” Nathaniel nods, before taking another bite of his sandwich, saying around it, “She made me drop my chips, too. They were barbecue flavor.”

Ivan’s solemnity breaks, and he laughs, throwing his head back with the force of it. The redhead feels a bit too pleased by this, watching the other laugh so genuinely because of him, taking away his bad mood.

“Sorry for your loss, then,” the other says with a grin, after he’s calmed down. He then nudges something towards Nathaniel. Some sort of Tupperware.

“What’s this?” Nathaniel asks, after quickly chewing and swallowing the bite of his sandwich.

“Dessert,” Ivan shrugs, scratching at his cheek and avoiding his gaze. “Mom packed too much, so…”

The redhead finds himself straightening in his seat, beaming at the chance to get a free dessert like the sugar-obsessed goblin he was. “Oh! Wow, your Mom made this?” he says, leaning in to look at the pretty danish in the container.

“My parents own a café,” Ivan explains, pushing the container closer to Nathaniel, who nearly snatches it up. “Believe me, I’ve eaten enough of these danish for a lifetime. Take it.”

“Well, don’t mind if I do,” Nathaniel chuckles, wiggling his fingers over the container. Ivan snorts at his theatrics. “Thanks! And not just for the dessert, either. Thanks for helping me out back there, too. You’re my hero.”

He grins at Ivan, who stares back at him with wide eyes. And then the bulky boy was whipping his face away, rubbing the back of his neck. “I-It’s nothing! It doesn’t matter!” he barks. Nathaniel would be intimidated, if not for the fact that he can clearly see Ivan’s ears are red, alongside the curve of his cheek.

Nathaniel just ducks his head and finishes his food with a smile pulling his lips, face and heart warm.

* * *

“Heyyyyy, uh, I’ve got a question.”

This is it. Nathaniel’s finally worked up the courage to ask Ivan to let him draw him. After all, the other literally defended him from Chloe. That was a solid fucking bond, Nathaniel thinks. At the very least, Ivan sees him as a friend, evidenced by all the time they spend together, including Nathaniel now always sitting with him to eat lunch. The redhead is willing to take that confirmation of friendship and run with it as far as he can.

Ivan blinks back at him, setting down his soda, thick brows furrowing. “Uh, yeah, sure. What’s up?”

The artist drums his fingertips against the tabletop, and asks, “After we finish lunch, could I draw you?”

The other boy just stares back at him. Nathaniel tries not to let his nerves overtake him, waiting for a response.

“…What.”

“Can I draw you?” Nathaniel asks again, this time quickly opening his sketchbook and looking for his latest sketch of Ivan. He flips through pages of Ladybug and Chat Noir sketches before he finds it, turning the book around to show the other, careful to not knock over any food or drinks in the process. “I’ve tried before, but I can never seem to draw you quite right. I need an actual reference.”

Ivan stares down at the sketchbook, eyes wide. He looks shocked, but as he keeps staring, he almost looks…enraptured. His face is softened, expression oddly vulnerable, as he drinks in the drawings with his gaze.

There’s a gleam in his steel-grey eyes when he finally looks back up at Nathaniel, after a solid minute. “You wanna draw me?”

“I mean, I’ve already _been_ drawing you,” slips from the artist’s tongue automatically, without his permission. “B-But, uh, yeah?”

Ivan’s gaze lowers back to the sketchbook. Slowly, cautiously, he reaches out a hand and gently touches the edge of the page. As if double-checking that it was real.

Nathaniel heart thrums staccato in his chest as he waits for a response. Full of nerves, he stumbles out with, “I mean, it’s probably freaky. Sorry. I should’ve asked for your permission before this to draw you, but I didn’t really think of it before now? And you were really good drawing practice. And I like drawing you. Sorry, that’s probably weird to say, and I…Sorry.”

“Stop apologizing!” Ivan snaps. Nathaniel flinches, and the other looks back up at him, eyes wide and cheeks pink. “Sorry! Sorry, didn’t mean to yell, just…You don’t gotta apologize. I—You can draw me however many times you want.”

“O-Oh, um. O-Okay,” Nathaniel stutters out, face as warm as an oven as he avoids looking at the other, fiddling with the last of his food. He hadn’t expected blanket permission like this. “Um, thanks.”

* * *

They sit in silence, though it’s oddly not uncomfortable silence. It just feels…strangely charged.

When they finish with their food, they’ve still got twenty minutes left. Plenty of time for Nathaniel to draw, especially a sketch that’s somewhat detailed like a profile.

“I, uh…I’ve never had someone wanna draw me, before,” the other boy mumbles shyly, rubbing the back of his neck and hunching over. “What—what exactly do I do…?”

“Oh! Nothing much, really,” Nathaniel quickly assures him, getting his pencil out of his bag and readying his sketchbook. “Just relax. Sit up with your natural posture and face me. Um, you can look at me, or you can look at the room.”

The artist is quick to lightly sketch out the basic oval for the head and the lines for the width of Ivan’s shoulders, making them take up most of the page. Ivan’s proportions and scale were all big, wide shoulders and thick neck, so he kept that in mind when placing the guidelines, mostly focusing on the head and some of the torso.

Taking in Ivan’s face shape was when things got complicated. Poor boy was blushing up a storm, but staring straight at Nathaniel when he glanced up to take in the other’s face. Eyes in the middle of the face, but the face was soft and round. Rounded oval at the bottom, no, make it a little plumper. But the strong jaw was still there, make the sides curve up to show that…Head shape first, then he can fill in the details…

Nathaniel was intent and invested as he draws, sometimes extending his pencil out and squinting to measure out proportions. Every time he made a face or stuck his tongue out, Ivan would snort, broken out of his tense stare.

By the end of Nathaniel putting on the finishing touches, the other was actually relatively relaxed in his seat. The artist finishes sprinkling on the freckles, double-checks to see if everything looks decent, before setting his pencil down with a pleased hum.

“Finally! This looks right,” he grins widely, turning the sketchbook around for the other to see. “How about it?”

Ivan is deadly silent. Nathaniel gives it a good ten seconds of anticipation, before peeking at Ivan.

The other boy looks awed as he stares down at the drawing. “I…I look like that?” he whispers.

“I just draw what I see,” the artist shrugs, tugging his bangs behind his ears.

“I look…” the bulky boy trails off, as if seemingly lost for words. Which was rare. Sure, Ivan didn’t talk much sometimes, but he always seemed to know what to say.

“What? Handsome? ‘Cuz that’s all you, dude,” Nathaniel says with a wink, before realizing what he’d just said and done.

Aw fuck. He can’t believe he’s done this. He’s such a stupid fucking bisexual, and Ivan is going to _hate him_ and—

And Ivan is blushing from his neck up to his ears. He suddenly stands up from his seat. “W-We should get back to class!” he says, very loudly, not looking at Nathaniel whatsoever.

Fuck. Oh fuck. Fuck fuck fuck—

“I-Ivan—” he stutters out, but it’s too late. Ivan’s already grabbed his things and is speed-walking away from the table with purpose.

* * *

Nathaniel’s not proud that he’s crying in the boy’s bathroom, but, well. He pretty much fucked up a friendship because he made his straight friend uncomfortable with his stupid gay crush.

“Nath…!”

“This is the _boy’s_ bathroom, Al!” the redhead says loudly around a hiccup.

“ _Fuck_ that! You’re my best friend, Nath, I’m _not_ leaving you to cry in here.”

Nathaniel just hugs himself and cries harder. “I-It’s—I f-fucked up, okay?! He’s fucking _straight_ , a-and I ruined _everything_ —"

Alix shrieks, trying to kick down the door of the bathroom stall. Nathaniel snaps his head up as the Akuma butterfly flutters down and lands on his pocket, where his pencil sticks out, merging into the object. A man’s deep voice silkily croons in his mind, “ _Evillustrator_ —"

“Fuck OFF, HAWKMOTH!” Nathaniel howls, clutching his head and furiously shaking it. Fear thrums in his chest. Fuck, he’s one of the few people in his class that hasn’t gotten Akumatized yet. Fuck, shit—

“ _I’m your friend and patron of the arts. Bring me the Miraculous, and I can get you want you want_.”

What he wants. What he wants is—is—

Ivan’s awed face as he stares at Nathaniel’s drawing flashes through his mind’s eyes.

“Y-yes, Hawkmoth,” he finds himself whispering in a daze, tears still warm and slick down his face.

“NO!” Alix yells, finally breaking down the stall door, but it’s too late. The purple energy envelopes him, and Nathaniel blacks out.

* * *

Ivan knows he messed up pretty much the second his mind stopped panicking, feet stalling in front of his locker. He snarls, punching the metal, angry beyond belief at himself.

He’s such a coward…! _Fuck_!

He couldn’t confess to Mylene, and he got Akumatized over that. He thought he got over his issues, got over being such a fucking coward. Mylene is scared of him, and he…He accepted that she wanted nothing to do with him. He moved on.

And then he started getting close to Nathaniel. Became his friend. Caught feelings, but didn’t think the other could like him back. Why would he? Nathaniel and him shared some things, like their favorite music genre and favorite films, sure. But everything else about Nathaniel was so wholly different from him.

Nathaniel was kind, and sweet, and anxious. But whenever they talked about something he enjoyed, he brightened up like the sun and could chatter on without fear like a motormouth. He was funny, he could be sassy, but could also act like a completely awkward dork. He was crazy talented and super creative, always drawing and improving himself. He was so petite, so _adorable_ looking, the prettiest boy in the entire school, even prettier than Adrien Agreste.

Ivan’s daydreamed of picking Nathaniel up, hands on the other’s hips, to overcome their height difference so they could kiss.

But Ivan was just an ugly and mean-looking oaf who was bad with words and feelings. Who got too angry too quick at things. Who took up too much space, and only brought the mood down, while he was at it. How could someone so vibrant and creative like Nathaniel ever like him back…?

But then Nathaniel drew him. And said he likes drawing him. And then drew him to look so _amazing_ , made him actually look good-looking. And then—

Ivan’s face _burns_ , and he slams head against his locker with an embarrassed whine at what just happened a few minutes ago. “ _What? Handsome? ‘Cuz that’s all you, dude_ ,” Nathaniel had said with a wink.

Nathaniel had flirted with him. He’d called Ivan _handsome_. No one’s ever called him handsome, minus his own family, and a few regulars at the café that’ve known him since he was a runt.

Nathaniel called him handsome and pretty much told Ivan he likes him. And what does Ivan do? Lets the gay panic take over, and runs away.

“Fuck. I prob’ly made him cry…” he whispers shakily. There’s a lump in his throat. He tries to swallow it down, and backs away from his locker. He fumbles with the latch for a pathetically long moment, before opening it.

The drummer digs through his textbooks, finding the small, thin notebook hidden in his Modern History textbook. He slides it out, biting his lip to gather his courage.

He wrote a song for Nathaniel. One he was planning to perform for him as a confession. If nothing else, he’d thought, the artist would maybe be tricked into thinking Ivan was just singing him a new song he’d found. Get his honest opinion first, before dropping the bomb that it was a love song Ivan created just for him.

Maybe he can show him the lyrics—no, maybe he can find Nathaniel and sing it to him, wherever he’s crying at. Alix will probably—definitely— punch Ivan straight in the balls for making her best friend cry like he has. But the pain will be worth it, if it’ll give him at least a _chance_ to make it up to the redhead.

The bulky boy nods to himself in determination. Right. Okay. He’s got a plan. Now, to grovel at his crush’s feet, and hope for forgiveness. Not even reciprocation, at this point. Just…some sort of forgiveness.

It’s not like Nathaniel will still like him after breaking his heart, after all.

Ivan sets his shoulders, and is about to exit the lockers, but watches as the door is…wiped away. Erased.

Someone steps through the new opening. Ivan instantly recognizes who it is. It’s Nathaniel, but he’s taller, with purple skin, hair windswept instead of falling across his face.

“N-Nathaniel…?” he asks like an idiot, stepping back.

The Akuma smirks back at him, something confident, almost _seductive_. “That’s not my name anymore. I’m Evillustrator.” The drummer feels himself sweat, as he takes another step back. Nathaniel—Evillustrator—takes another step forwards. “What’s wrong?” the Akuma croons, blue eyes half-lidded. “Are you _scared_ of me, Ivan?”

Oh, fuck. That’s actually kinda hot.

“Step back, villain!”

Evillustrator’s expression becomes annoyed, and he whirls around. “Here so soon, Chat Noir?”

A zip, and then the Akuma was being wrapped up in Ladybug’s yoyo. “And Ladybug! Ivan, _run_!”

The drummer does as he’s told, barely managing to skirt past the villain tussling with Ladybug in the too-small space of the locker room. Fuck. God damn it.

He pants, as he keeps running down the hallway at a sprint. Is he really such a coward, he’s just going to abandon Nathaniel…? Sure, he’s an Akuma, but he definitely got Akumatized because of _him_. This is all his fault…!

But he has no other choice. He has to run, and let the heroes of Paris handle this.

* * *

Ivan ends up hiding in his room, paranoid and anxious beyond belief, constantly peeking out of the window. His family’s café was right across the street, and his parents were _still there_.

The first thing Ivan did was run to the café to warn Mom and Dad to evacuate everyone because an Akuma was around and after him. His parents had ordered him to hide in the apartment just in case, that they’ll try to keep the Akuma away from him. Ivan nearly threw up on his shoes then and there, but they were dead serious, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to change their minds. Nor the minds of some of the regulars, who weren’t willing to abandon the café and the Bruel family that easily.

So here he is, huddled like a coward in his room while his family and countless civilians pretended everything was fine, as a diversion. So that they could protect him.

Ivan sniffles and lets out a few tears, quickly wiping them away before they could make his eyes look like a high racoon, or something. “Fuck, I’m such a hopeless loser…”

He needs something to get his attention off everything, or he’ll panic even more, he knows. So he falls back to his usual go-to thing to distract himself: music.

He plugs his headphones in and swipes through his phone. Every artist he can think of reminds him too much of Nathaniel. Blink, My Chem, Magma Moon, MGK—all of them are artists he’s listened to with Nathaniel, talked extensively about, trading thoughts and favorite songs.

He ends up smashing a finger on the MGK playlist, hitting shuffle and closing his eyes, letting the music drown everything else out.

The first song is Bloody Valentine. Of course it is. It’s like the universe _wants_ to be an ironic piece of shit. Ivan pretty much laughs hysterically as the drums and bassline pound through his head, fumblingly singing along.

“ _You’ll be my Bloody Valentine…tonight…_ ” he sings to himself, unable to even listen to his own voice, but lets it vibrate in his chest all the same. “ _Nanana…nanana…Nananana, just tonight. In my ‘ead, in my ‘ead…_ ”

And then the music cuts out. Ivan blinks. Oh, was there an ad, or…

He stares down at his phone. Which isn’t in his hand anymore. It’s vanished.

“What the _fuck_!” he yelps, throwing off his headphones and whirling around.

Evillustrator smirks back at him, twirling his pen in his hand. “Sorry about that. I’ll draw you a new, better phone to make up for it.”

“H-How did you…” Ivan stutters, getting to his feet and gripping his song journal tight, flattening himself against the wall. “But you…And then…I-I’ve never even taken you to _my_ _house_.”

“Looked through the school files for your address,” the Akuma shrugs. “Wasn’t hard getting in the Principal’s office, I assure you.”

Ivan pales further, grudgingly impressed. “Jesus fuck. That’s…That’s smart.”

“Thank you,” the Akuma chuckles, doing a dramatic flourish of his hand as he bows. “The heroes were posted outside your family’s café, so I had to come in through the back, I’m afraid. Don’t worry, I drew the living room window back in place. It’s like I was never here.”

Ohhhh shit. Nathaniel was terrifyingly creative as a villain. Stall. He has to stall. And find some way to alert the heroes what’s going on.

“Your power…It can erase things?” he asks as a lowball question, pressing himself against the wall and slowly stepping towards the window. He unfastens one of the pins he put on his shorts pockets, a hazy plan forming.

“And create them. I can draw anything, and bring it to life,” Evillustrator says lightly. He twirls the stylus in his hand, and raises his arm, which has a tablet attached to it. “Here, let me show you.”

Ivan tenses, standing right next to his window. But all the Akuma draws is a rose, which he holds out with a charming smile. “See…? No need to be scared of me, it’s just a rose.”

“Well,” the drummer starts evenly, carefully getting closer to standing in front of his window. “Most Akuma I’ve met are violent, so I’m on-edge.”

The Akuma frowns at him. “I would never hurt you, Ivan. I love you! Why would I hurt someone I love so dearly…?”

Ivan feels his heart skip a beat, and his face warm. He freezes in place, his back against the window. “Wh-what?”

“I love you. And I have for some time, I think,” Evillustrator goes on in an even, soft tone, twirling the rose in his hand.

“Why me?” Ivan can’t help but ask, extremely confused. He starts to move again, shifting the curtain aside a bit, blocking the gap from the villain’s eyes with his body. Okay, he can probably fit his hand or something in the gap to signal for help. Right.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Evillustrator asks. “You’re protective and are willing to stand up for what’s right, like a noble knight. You’re strong, and yet sensitive and intelligent. You make me laugh and smile with your charm.”

The bulky boy gapes back, freezing as he raises his hand on the ledge, pin ready to reflect the sunlight out of the window. “You…You really think all of that? About _me_?”

“Of course,” Nathaniel—no, Evillustrator, this is his Akuma—smiles back at him, blue eyes soft.

“Oh. Oh, uh. Wow. Didn’t—didn’t r-really expect a confession today,” he admits, carefully trying to move the pin around to catch the light in an S.O.S pattern. Shit, this is _so_ much harder to do under pressure.

The Akuma’s expression turns sad, and he sighs, melancholic. “Ah, you don’t like me, do you…? This is all in vain, isn’t it…?”

“I-I do!” Ivan stutters out.

His statement has the opposite effect. Instead of calming down, the lilac-skinned boy sneers at him. “Are you trying to—what? Spare my feelings?”

“No!” Ivan says, pin slipping from his sweaty fingers as he thrusts his hand forwards. “N-no, I’m—I’m not!”

“I hate liars, Ivan. You know I do,” Evillustrator whispers, expression full of hurt and anger, raising his pen to his tablet—

“I HAVE PROOF,” the bulky boy booms in a panic, heart beating faster than any war drum. The Akuma’s pen pauses, just barely above the tablet’s surface.

Evillustrator frowns back at him, looking confused. “I—how? How do you have proof?”

“It’s all in here,” Ivan says waveringly, breathless, raising his lyrics book in a sweaty palm. “I…I wrote you a song. A l-love song. I was—w-was gonna sing it to you earlier, but…”

The other’s expression clears, replaced with something like awe, mouth open in an ‘o’ and blue eyes glimmering behind his face mask. “Oh! Did you—were you really? I hadn’t known. Can you sing it to me, then?”

Ivan nods slowly. He opens the notebook with shaking fingers, gulping thickly. He breaths, and is about to start, but realization hits him like a lightning bolt. “I don’t have the last verse finished,” he admits, looking down at the empty spot where the last two lines should go.

“You could always sing what you already have,” Evillustrator tells him, encouraging and enthusiastic. He clasps his hands around the rose and stylus, bringing them up to his cheek and sighing dreamily. “Oh, I’ve always wanted someone to write a love song for me…! So _romantic_!”

Okay, cool. Good to know for later. Or right now.

An idea forms in his head. A very risky idea, but an idea, nonetheless.

“C-Could I borrow your pen to write the last bit right now? This is kinda embarrassing,” Ivan asks stiffly. He was never good at lying, never having a single lying bone in his body, always so robotic when he tried to. But he hopes there’s enough truth in his statement that the villain won’t be _too_ tipped off.

Evillustrator walks towards him. Ivan nearly goes into cardiac arrest then and there, but the Akuma smiles gently at him and extends his stylus. “Of course, my love. Here you are.”

The other winces, hissing and clutching at his temple, but Ivan’s already got the stylus in his hand. He snaps it with as much force as he can muster, the crack satisfying and loud. A purple butterfly flutters from it, and Evillustrator gasps, before the purple energy wafts from his form, leaving only Nathaniel Kurtzberg behind.

* * *

“Huh…? What _happened_?” Nathaniel asks with a groan, collapsing on his knees and clutching at his head.

Ivan would answer, but he hears a frantic knock on his window. He steps aside, pulling back the curtain to see Ladybug’s blue eyes behind her spotted domino mask staring back at him.

Ivan quickly opens the window, and Ladybug swings her yoyo inside, snagging the Akuma butterfly and purifying it. “Gotcha!”

Nodding to himself, Ivan steps towards Nathaniel and kneels down. “Hey, it’s okay,” he starts softly, putting a gentle hand on the other’s shoulder. “You got Akumatized, but you’re back now.”

“I-Ivan?!” the artist yelps, all but throwing himself away from the drummer. Which, fair. Ivan winces, his stomach sinking. “Wh-where am I…?!”

“In my room,” Ivan states flatly. Nathaniel’s eyes somehow go even wider than they were before, and he squeaks like a mouse. It’s fascinating, watching how quickly the other’s face goes from pale to a beet-red that exactly matches his hair.

“Miraculous Ladybug!” the heroine calls, throwing up, ironically enough, a smartphone that looks exactly like Ivan’s. The magical swarm of ladybugs rush across the room, and Ivan’s real phone appears once more on his bed, not erased away from existence like before. Huh. Neat.

“I think there’s some major misunderstandings you two need to work through,” Ladybug states, frowning at the pair of boys sadly. “You both need to sit down and talk about it, okay? I know you two care about each other a lot! You can’t let your friendship end on such a sour note!”

Ivan nods along. Yeah. Yeah, he should explain things to Nathaniel. “I’ll apologize right now, Ladybug. Thanks for helping us.”

“And me!” Chat Noir yelps. Ivan turns, seeing the leather-clad hero furiously waving his hand with a huge pout on his face. “I mean, just because I took the front door and got here a little later, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t here too!”

“Right. Thanks, Chat Noir,” the bulky boy says bemusedly. Next to him, Nathaniel wheezes in laughter. Chat Noir’s expression just becomes even more offended.

“I’ve gotta go. Bug Out!” Ladybug says, hand up to her earrings and hopping towards the window. “Chaton, exit the building, too, and give them some privacy.”

“Of course,” Chat Noir salutes, allowing Ladybug to leave through the window first, before squeezing through. The hero hesitates, half-perched out of the window. He turns to survey Ivan and Nathaniel, cat eyes soft with understanding. “There’s always gonna be trouble in paradise, boys, in both friendship and in love. It’s always better to talk it out, alright?”

“Right,” Ivan nods, while Nathaniel gives a squeaky noise in agreement. The bulky boy gives a little wave at the leather-clad hero, who beams back at them, before finally leaving them to it.

* * *

Nathaniel is fucking _terrified_ , right now.

The last time he was lucid, he’d been crying in the boy’s bathroom over Ivan. He remembers Alix trying to kick his stall door down, remembers attempting to fight off Hawkmoth’s control, but only lasting a few seconds. Then, nothing.

Next thing he knows, he’s collapsing on his knees to the floor. Ivan’s in front of him. He’s apparently in Ivan’s _room_ , of all places. And he’s having a bit of a normal crisis of being possessed by a supervillain, mixed with some gay crisis, for flavor. Because the universe just loves to fuck with him, for whatever fucking reason.

So, here he is. In his crush’s room. After he failed to flirt with said crush and literally spooked him with his icky gay germs, to the point he _ran away from him_.

Yeah, Nathaniel is _not_ having a good fucking time right now. But it’s fine. It’s cool. He can pretend to be a functional human being.

He swallows thickly. Ivan has a hand on his shoulder, a surprisingly comforting weight. “I’m sorry,” the other boy states, looking into Nathaniel’s eyes, grey meeting blue. He’s startled to find that it’s actually sincere.

“W-Wait. What…?” Nathaniel asks weakly. “What for? I’m the one who was creepy and hit on you—”

Ivan sneers down at him. Fuck, he was right— “You weren’t creepy!” Ivan snaps, “Don’t say that!”

Nathaniel needs a hot second for his mind to recompute. “But…But I flirted with you, and you ran off, and you hate me—”

“I don’t hate you, Nath,” Ivan says evenly, sad and sincere. He places both his hands on Nathaniel’s shoulders, squeezing them gently. “I’m sorry. For running away. For making you cry. I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just…panicked.”

“…Really?” he finds himself whispering.

“Yeah,” the other grunts, cheeks filling with a blush. “I panicked _really_ badly.”

“I mean, it’s fine,” Nathaniel finally says after a long moment, placing a hand on one of Ivan’s. “Like, you’re straight, I get it—”

“ _What_?!” Ivan exclaims, eyes wide. “I’m not straight! What on God’s green Earth made you think I was fucking _straight_ …?”

“I dunno, _you’re_ the one that ran away when I flirted with you! You tell me!” the artist retorts, a little defensive and a lot confused.

“Nath, I literally wear _eyeliner_.”

“Just because a guy wants to wear makeup doesn't means he’s gay,” the redhead says logically.

“I’m in a rock band. With Juleka and Rose.”

“Not all people in rock bands are gay. M-Maybe you just support Juleka and Rose’s relationship.”

Ivan bodily shakes him a little and states, “I _dead-ass_ told you I want to _marry_ Gerard Way. Who’s a man.”

“Most MCR fans do,” Nathaniel states seriously, “no matter their gender or sexual orientation.”

“ _Jesus_ , are you seriously this dense, or are you just fucking with me?” Ivan lets the redhead’s shoulders go to gesticulate at Nathaniel, expression one of pure exasperation. “I’m bi! Seriously, how the _hell_ am I in love with you…?”

The redhead finds his breath stuttering in his lungs. “Y-You’re in love with me…?”

“YES!” Ivan yells, throwing his hands up. “I literally wrote you a love song…!”

“Y-You—you wrote me a, a love song…?” Nathaniel asks breathlessly, face warm and heart doing cartwheels in his ribcage. Fuck, that’s so _romantic_. Is he swooning? He’s probably swooning.

The other boy huffs, face slowly going full red, averting his gaze. “U-Uh, yeah. I wrote a love song. It’s not finished but…”

The bulky boy gets up from his kneel with a grunt. He pads over to the window, bending down to grab a small, discarded notebook under it that Nathaniel hadn’t noticed before. He then gestures over at his bed with a jerk of his head, going to sit. Nathaniel quickly scrambles to his feet, carefully sitting down on the mattress, leaving a good two feet of space between them.

Ivan opens the notebook and hands it to Nathaniel. The artist carefully takes it in hand, looking down at the slanted and messy scrawl he’s come to know as Ivan’s writing.

_I’m a goner,_

_His smile like a knife,_

_He knows I’m trouble,_

_But he’s here in my life._

_He’s the match,_

_Setting me on fire,_

_Flame-bright hair,_

_Like a living pyre._

_Smoke in my lungs,_

_All I desire,_

_Stars on his face,_

_‘Cuz he’s on fire._

_Fire, fire, fire—_

_I feel like drowning,_

_In his ocean eyes,_

_Can’t breath, can’t talk,_

_Ain’t no surprise._

_His laugh like a siren,_

_He’s in disguise,_

_I know he’s trouble,_

_But I’m just his prize._

_He’s the match,_

_Setting me on fire,_

_Flame-bright hair,_

_Like a living pyre._

_Smoke in my lungs,_

_All I desire,_

_Stars on his face,_

_‘Cuz he’s on fire._

_He’s the fire and flames,_

_The water and sea…_

Oh. Oh, the song is very obviously about Nathaniel, considering the comparisons to his hair and eye color. Fire and water and all.

The redhead’s face feels like its on fire, as well as his heart. That was… “Wow,” slips from his lips. “Th-this is so _romantic_ …” And, yup, he’s _definitely_ swooning now.

“Not done yet, or I’d play and sing it for you,” Ivan mumbles shyly, rubbing the back of his head. “’M not a good singer, either, so…”

“I love it,” Nathaniel tells the other genuinely, finding a smile spread on his lips. “I—sorry, I d-don’t really have anything special like this to help with my confession, but—”

“You already did,” Ivan shakes his head, a soft little smile on his lips. “You—you drew me. That—it was r-really romantic. Uh…”

Nathaniel can’t help it. He laughs, relieved and joyous. He doesn’t stop himself from jumping across the space and hugging the other boy. He feels Ivan freeze under him, and goes to pull away, but the bulky boy wraps him up in his big, warm arms. Nathaniel finds himself melting instantly.

“Th-thank you,” he murmurs into the other’s collarbones. “Um. Can we…D-do you wanna be my b-boyfriend?”

“Yeah. I’d like that,” Ivan says, tightening his hold on Nathaniel slightly.

“Cool,” Nathaniel says, a wide smile spreading on his lips that he presses against the other’s collar, feeling overwhelmingly warm and fuzzy and content.

* * *

“NATHANIEL KURTZBERG, YOU WORRIED ME SICK, YOU LITTLE SON OF A—”

“A-Alix, it’s o-okay! He’s okay,” Mylene stutters out, holding both of the skater’s shoulders. “H-He was Akumatized, he’s been through enough, don’t you think…?”

Alix harrumphs, but relaxes instantly, though she gives Nathaniel a narrow-eyed stare. “I guess…”

“Sorry for worrying you, Al,” Nathaniel smiles sheepishly at his best friend. At the very least, they’re at the park, which is a public location where Alix can’t easily get away with murdering him.

“You worried me sick,” Alix huffs, shaking her head. “Whatever. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Nathaniel opens his arms, allowing his best friend to nearly tackle him in a hug. “Me too.” The two stay like that for a good few seconds, and Alix pretty much tries to crack his back in half, but he doesn’t mind.

“Honestly, the only good thing that came from this disaster was Mylene agreeing to go on a date,” the skater grumbles with a pout when she pulls away from him. Nathaniel stares back at her in shock, gaze switching between both short girls.

Mylene’s entire face is pink, and she giggles bashfully. “W-Well, Nathaniel’s okay! That’s what should matter, right?”

“Yeah, but getting a date with a cute girl’s also pretty neat,” Alix shrugs, stepping back and threading her hand through Mylene’s. The plump girl squeaks, cheeks going red as she ducks her head to hide against Alix’s hair.

“You’re both adorable. Congrats,” Nathaniel nods at them with a growing grin. “Almost as adorable as me with my own boyfriend.”

Alix stares back at him, mouth agape and eyes wide. “Shut _up_. Did you really—”

“Yup! Me and Ivan talked it out, and now we’re dating!” the redhead says excitedly, doing a set of jazz hands and beaming like a complete dork. “He pretty much ran away from me ‘cuz of his bi panic. We talked, we confessed, it all worked out in the end!”

“Oh, thank _fuck_. Your guy’s pining was starting to get painful.”

“Pot, meet kettle,” he shoots back, raising a brow and looking between the petite girls. “You two pined a whole _year_ before this.”

“You can’t prove anything…!” Alix hisses, pointing threateningly at him, her cheeks flushed.

“Your reaction was all the proof I need, Al,” Nathaniel laughs, raising his hands to hide behind when Alix raises a fist. “Mylene, help! Don’t let her kill me…!”

“Th-that’s a problem between best friends. Leave me out of it,” the plump girl says jokingly, a little smile on her face.

“Wow. Wowwww,” the artist snorts. “Stone cold, Mylene. Stone cold.” A thought hits him, after that. “Uhhhh, you…You sure you’re okay with, uh. With me dating Ivan…?”

Mylene tilts her head, blinking her honey eyes back at him. “Why wouldn’t I? He—he c-confessed at the start of the year, but it’s been months now. We’ve both moved on, I think.”

“Oh. Cool,” Nathaniel nods, rubbing the back of his head. “Just…Just double checking.”

The girls shakes her head, dreadlocks swaying with the motion. “If anything, I’m happy for you two. And I hope Ivan and I can be friends,” she says gently with a small smile. It feels like a blessing.

Good to know. He’ll remember to tell Ivan this later, so the other can start mending this bridge. After all, Nathaniel and Alix are still best friends. Mylene and Ivan are going to interact _eventually_ because of this…

  
“Thanks, Mylene,” he tells her warmly, and he means it.

* * *

“Hey, Nath,” Ivan greets him, before casually sitting down on Nathaniel’s left.

Nathaniel blinks over at Ivan—his _boyfriend_. Wow, was that exciting to think—and smiles. “Hey yourself, handsome.”

The other’s cheeks instantly fill with a blush, and he stutters, “I-Is that gonna be a Thing with you…?”

“Dunno what you mean,” Nathaniel says innocently with a smile, tugging his bangs behind his ear to wink at his boyfriend. “Just calling it like how I see it.”

Ivan groans, burying his red face in a hand. Nathaniel just laughs delightedly. “I did this to myself. I said I’d date you.”

“You’ll get used to it,” the redhead smirks and leans back in his seat, even if his face is warm from giddiness at his own, bold actions.

“Are you two really dating now?!” Rose shrieks excitedly, launching herself from her seat to slam her hands on Nathaniel’s desk.

“Yup,” the artist says casually, even though he feels pretty much everyone’s eyes on him. Subtlety? Unheard of in Bustier’s Homeroom.

“Kim, you owe me twenty euros,” Alix says casually, sticking her hand out to the jock, who sputters back at her.

“And you also owe me twenty for Alix and Mylene’s new relationship, Kim,” Max says right after, voice even and calculating.

The skater whirls to the tech wiz, gaping. “You _bet on me and Mylene_?!”

Rose whoops, thrusting her fists in the air. “Woohoo! More gays!”

“Rose, I’m pretty sure _no one_ in this class is straight,” Juleka mutters to her girlfriend, gently taking the blonde by the shoulders and ushering her back to their desk. Hah. Accurate.

An unknown girl strides into the room a few moments later, being escorted by Miss Bustier. “Please settle down, class…! We have a new exchange student joining us!” The girl instantly makes moon-eyes at Adrien.

“Never mind. I spoke too soon,” Juleka deadpans. Nathaniel gives an ugly, sudden snort.

Miss Bustier blinks, looking to the back. “Oh…! Ivan, you’re not in your usual seat.”

“I switched,” Ivan calls down to their teacher, crossing his arms with his resting murder bitchface. Nathaniel places a fist over his mouth and pretends to cough to cover his laugh.

Their teacher blinks, obviously taken-aback, but quickly adapts. “Very well. Lila, please take the empty desk in front of Ivan and Nathaniel.”

The transfer student—Lila, apparently—smiles toothily, obviously pleased she won’t have to share a desk. “Thank you, Miss Bustier,” she tells the teacher with sticky sweetness, turning to wave at the class. “I hope we all get along!”

Nathaniel waits for the girl to near them, giving her a polite nod of his head with a neutral face that she returns, her gaze nervous when it lands on Ivan acting like a silent sentinel next to him. Lila settles into her seat with little fanfare, in front of Nathaniel, in Ivan’s old spot.

Well, Nathaniel’s not going to be able to get away with drawing as well as he used to. But it’s a small price to pay for being able to sit next to his boyfriend.

He turns to shoot his boyfriend a smile, one the other returns with obvious fondness, something soft that crinkles his steel-grey eyes.

Yeah. Everything was worth it.

* * *

_“He’s the fire and flames,_

_The water and sea,_

_And I know he’ll be staying,_

_Right next to me_.”

“So, you finally finished it, huh?” Nathaniel giggles, a delighted and wide smile on his face as he gives a standing ovation.

“Course. I wouldn’t sing it if it wasn’t,” Ivan laughs, face warm. He sets his drumsticks down, smiling at the rest of Kitty Section. “Thanks for helping me with the music, guys.”

“It’s no problem, Ivan,” Luka tells him warmly, going full older brother mode. “You worked really hard on this song for your boyfriend! It’d be a shame if you didn’t end up performing it for him.”

“Those were _amazing_ lyrics, Ivan…!” Marc praises, beaming and clapping for the drummer-slash-singer as he sits next to Nathaniel. The writer turns to the artist, noting, “You have a very talented and sweet boyfriend, Nath. I’m a little jealous.”

“I’ll fight you for his hand,” the redhead says jokingly, even going so far as to shove a jacket sleeve up his arm. “I’m small, but feral.”

“Why are you like this…” Ivan sighs, rubbing at a warm cheek. Rose giggles very loudly at his misfortune.

“Because I love you, handsome, with all my heart…!” Nathaniel calls back, without an ounce of shame, making a heart with his hands. Next to him, his comic partner giggles up a storm.

“Can’t believe you’re trying to steal our award for mushiest couple,” Juleka drawls as she puts her bass away with her brother’s help.

“Gasp! Are you really?” Rose asks teasingly, hands on her hips as she looks up at the much taller Ivan. “Maybe I’ll go and write Jules a second love song, then…! We can’t lose our title!”

“Go for it,” Ivan laughs, shaking his head fondly at the petite blonde. “I’m sure she’d love it.”

“Rose, oh my _God_ ,” the goth girl says, face pink and quickly darkening as Rose attaches herself to her arm. “You don’t—you don’t have to—”

“But I want to!” Rose says sweetly. “I wanna write a thousand songs about you, Juleka…!”

Luka laughs at the look of gay panic on Juleka’s face. “I think she’ll actually do it, Jules.”

“Babe, we can’t lose to them!” Nathaniel drawls, before throwing himself at Ivan. The bulky boy rolls his eyes and catches his tiny boyfriend, who swoons dramatically in his arms. “Write me another love song…!” Marc is laughing so hard from his seat, he’s stopped making noise completely, and Luka is trying very hard to fight down a wheeze behind his fist.

“I’ll drop you,” Ivan states flatly.

“Ooh, and make me fall for you all over again?” the redhead smirks with a wink.

Ivan’s face feels like its on fire as he raises his head to ask the heavens, “How and why did I ever think you were shy…? Can I get your shyness back? I miss it when you blushed every time I did something. You were too cute. Now you’re a gremlin.”

“I got over the honeymoon phase. We’re now in full dysfunctional marriage stage, baby. You’ll just have to live with it,” the redhead grins sharply up at him.

A smile sharp like a knife, hair like a flame, eyes like the ocean, and making Ivan his prize…Yeah, he really _did_ end up describing the other well in his song.

The bulky boy smiles, shifting his grip on his boyfriend, before lifting him clear off the deck of the ship. Nathaniel’s eyes fly wide, and his breath catches, despite Ivan doing this a hundred—no, a thousand—times before.

Ivan raises Nathaniel up, slotting their lips together as he eliminates their height difference, his boyfriend gladly throwing his arms around Ivan’s neck to kiss him back enthusiastically.

Yeah, he can live with this. Very happily, in fact.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> So! An AU where Mylene rejects Ivan and is logically terrified of being kidnapped by a literal rock monster on her first day of school. Mylene's been characterized as sweet but a total scaredy cat, so I just took that trait and played it out to what logically made sense.
> 
> Ivan was rejected and lonely. Nathaniel was paired up with him because group assignments where you have to do things with your seat buddy is common, even in university. And then an awkward friendship slash romance bloomed from there.
> 
> There's a lot of music and art references in here. I'm an art grad student so I busted out my art knowledge, and the music was from my own musical taste and a tiny bit of research.
> 
> Song used and referenced often is Bloody Valentine by Machine Gun Kelly. It's a bop, and I'm still fucking floored that this man transitioned from rapping into being a pop punk artist. Madlad.
> 
> Ivan's song is written by me, inspired loosely on She's Kerosene by The Interruptors.
> 
> Magma Moon is based on the French band Magma, of which Astruc and Bronte are fans of. They made the logo on Nathaniel's t-shirt based on the band logo.
> 
> Ivan literally has freckles and wears winged eyeliner. I found this up researching his wiki for this fic, and I'm completely over the fucking moon. I love my fat son so much alkdfjakls what a fat icon.
> 
> Ladybug’s Lucky Charm was a smartphone. Essentially, it gave the function of being able to zoom in and see Ivan’s distress signal. Then, record the flashing and search up what it meant online, seeing that it was an S.O.S. By the time the heroes put that together, going to the window and the front door to go inside, Ivan had pretty much convinced Evillustrator to give him his pen.
> 
> And finally, I think that's the last of my notes! Comments? Concerns? Any parts feel confusing in this? I wrote this literally all in one day through sheer force of will, so I might have missed something.


End file.
